Glossary

Note: these aren't the definitions you'd find in a book. If that's what you want, then go look in a book. These are they way I would explain the terms to someone. I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know of anything that's misleading or just plain wrong, but I'm not trying to be too strict. Life is tough enough. Sometimes, I may show some sarcasm, though.

Punchdown

This is what you do when you're tired of crawling under the house. All the connectors and patch panels have little slots that you stick the wire into to make a connection. To do this reliably, you need a tool. Also, you cannot put more than one wire into a slot. The first wire kind of spreads the slot open, and the second wire won't make contact. This is a major hassle, but that's life in the closet.